Conventionally, business card cases or name card cases have been known in the art, such as those disclosed in JP Registered Utility Model Publication No. 3108210 or JP Utility Model Publication No. S62-63020. In JP Registered Utility Model Publication No. 3108210, a discharging opening of business cards or a name cards (hereinafter called cards) is provided on a storage case for storing a plurality of cards, and the stored cards are lifted upward by lifting means provided on a bottom portion of the storage case using elastic means such as a leaf spring. The card lifted upwardly can be pushed out one by one by inserting a finger into a window portion provided on a cover and by sliding the card via frictional force generated between the finger and the card. In JP Utility Model Publication No. S62-63020, a card case comprises a lifting means as well, and a discharging button member thereof is slidably mounted on a cover; The card can be discharged through a discharging opening by locking an end of a card at the top of the stack using a locking portion provided on the discharging button.
However, the business card case (hereinafter called a card case) disclosed in the above-stated JP Registered Utility Model Publication No. 3108210 of the above-mentioned prior art has a problem that it may be difficult to take the card out through the discharging opening because the card is pressed downward when the card is strongly pressed in order to push out the card stored in the storage case by finger. Another problem is that the above mentioned problem is aggravated in that elastic force of the elastic means of the lifting means is reduced, in case of less number of cards stored in the storage case.
Moreover, in the card case disclosed in the above-mentioned JP Utility Model Publication No. S62-63020, a card is to be discharged by pushing on the discharging button member, wherein the end of the card is locked by the locking portion of the discharging button member. This card case also has a problem in that because the part to be locked by the locking portion of the discharging button member is as thick as a card to be locked, the card case often fails to lock the card, so that repeated trials will be necessary. Moreover, the card case disclosed in the above-stated JP Utility Model Publication No. S62-63020 has another problem in that the discharging button should be manually returned every time a card is to be used, thus the operation is complicated.
The present invention is made to solve the above-mentioned problems. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a card case wherein it is possible to securely discharge a card stored in a storage case to the last one, through a discharging opening.
Moreover, an object of the present invention is to provide a card case, wherein a card is semi-automatically discharged from a storage case.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is characterized in that a card case comprises a storage case having a discharging opening for discharging cards and composed of a lower case and an upper case detachable from each other, wherein the storage case can receive a plurality of stacked cards in its interior; fixing means fixing the lower case and the upper case while both the cases overlap each other; lifting means mounted on the lower case for lifting up the cards stored in the lower case toward the upper case; a guiding member mounted on one side of the storage case for bending at least the ones at the top of the stacked cards stored in the lower case; a discharging button slidably provided toward the discharging opening on the upper case, which comprises a locking portion for locking the ones at the top end of the plurality of cards; and an automatic returning means automatically returning the discharging button member from a predetermined sliding position to an initial position ;and wherein the guiding member comprises a substrate portion provided on one inside the upper case and an elastic guide body provided inside the substrate portion; and wherein an releasing recess is provided inside the substrate portion, on an upper side of the guide body.
In the inventions as described above, it is possible to allow to fix the lower case and the upper case are while both the cases overlap each other, by designing the fixing means so as to comprise fixing members openably/closably attached to both sides of the lower case, and by engaging locking protruding members provided on free end sides of the fixing members with the upper case.
Further in the present invention, the business card case according to the claim 8, wherein the lifting means are composed of elastic means being leaf springs provided on an inner bottom of the lower case.
Still Further in the present invention, the automatic returning means comprises a helical spring rotatably engaged with inner side of the top plate of the upper case at one end portion thereof, while its other end portion rotatably engaged with the guide plate provided on the discharging button member.
Further in the present invention, the guiding member mounted on an inside of one side of the storage case in contacted with business card, the guiding member having guiding portion provided on the upper inside end thereof, the guiding portion inclined or curved toward the inside, and thus those of the upper end of the business card that has been pushed up by push-up means is bent by the guide portion.
Further in the present invention, the guiding member can be so designed that a guiding portion is provided thereon, with its top side being inclined or curved toward the inner side of the storage case.
Still further in the present invention, the guiding member is characterized in that it comprises a substrate portion provided on the inner side of the upper case and an elastic guide body mounted inside the substrate portion, and that escaping releasing recess is provided inside the substrate portion on the upper portion side of the guide body.
In the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention, the cooperation of a lifting means with a guiding member allows for an increase in bent angle of the cards stored at the upper end of a storage case as compared to those stored below. Thereby, these cards are easily engaged with a locking portion of a discharging button member, and this ensures that a card is discharged from the discharging opening one by one.
When a card case is structured as in claim 2, a discharging button member could be automatically returned to an initial position after discharging operation of card(s) using the discharging button member, in addition to the above-mentioned advantage of the invention according to claim 1, thus effects can be achieved in that operability is improved.